Hero
by ThatShieldGuy
Summary: My Father once said "A narrow view speaks more than what the majority says." I told him "Dad. Stop yelling so loud. We're in public and people are giving us weird looks." My name is Andy, and I'm here to write about my experiences in this strange new world with my twin sister and friends; to save a kingdom from ruin. (ABANDONED)
1. Chapter 1

**So. Here it is. The sequel to my trainwreck of a fanfiction _Mercenary_ , set inside Fire Emblem: Fates. A story that I want to write, like I did with all the others. If you are a part of the returning crowd, welcome back to the show! You probably know what kind of quality fanfiction you're about to get into so buckle up. If you're new, welcome! I hope you're ready for a fanfiction potentially full of Gary and Mary Sues, a terrible re-telling of the main plot, slight changes to the mechanics and the way this Fire Emblem game works, canon characters acting out of their character, side plotlines that go nowhere, terrible grammar and spelling, support conversations that are so bad that they would never be in the game, and so many other terrible things that only those who are insane would dare stick around! Still, I've been told through reviews and PMs that I'm not actually that bad of a writer and that these little rants about how terrible the quality of this fanfiction is are either hilarious, comforting, or off-putting to my story's readers. So I'm not going to do as many of these little rants as I did in Mercenary, but I'm going to put this one at the start as a warning in case this story deserves it as I write it. I imagine you all are tired of my talking and going on about myself and my stories huh? Well, I'll let you all go on and read the fanfiction now. I hope you enjoy it as best as you can! Welcome to _Hero_!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter One: Call to Adventure**_

I remember a phrase my Dad said to me a few days ago while I was wheeling him around the marketplace. He said "A narrow view speaks more than what the majority says." I said back to him "Dad. Stop yelling so loud. We're in public and people are giving us weird looks." Old people, am I right? Funny thing about that, my Dad is actually a good six years older than me at my age of sixteen; unless I forgot his age again and I'm making stuff up so I don't get yelled at by my Sister. Then I realize, my memory can be pretty fuzzy at times so I best write stuff down. Pretty cool idea, huh?

I should probably explain the situation. You all must be so confused. My name is Anthony, Andy for short as Anthony is too much of a mouthful to say. I am the son of Aiden and Anna, and I have a twin sister called Ana. Ana and I are from the Future, well a different future now, that was a world doomed to the legions of undead monsters known as Risen that were being lead by the Fell Dragon Grima. Due to some time travel and a whole lot of meddling, my sister, I, and a ton of other people like us went back to the past and helped our parents kill Grima save the world from the cursed Future! That makes us like, heroes in a sense. How cool is that? I would have to say pretty cool, especially with how I get some special privileges from the people like free food and gifts. Perks of being a hero!

Despite being a hero and all, I still got to do some stuff around despite this new age of peace settling. It's dumb and really unnecessary but I gotta do it or I get yelled at by a lot of people like Ana, Dad, Lucina, Severa, etc. The last two are friends of mine that come from the Future, and I can safely say that Lucina is the leader of our group of time travelers. Severa is just a friend like Owain and Inigo, a couple other friends of mine. I should probably talk about them seeing how we're meeting up in a few for… Ugh… Guard duty.

The first one I'll talk about will be Owain. Owain is… Well, he is very 'special' with the way he speaks and acts. It's like talking to an actual lunatic sometimes! Despite his eccentric attitude, he is a loyal and dependable person I would always be happy to have at my back, as he would for me I imagine. Plus, he has some awesome names whenever he names weapons and moves. Like his blade has the coolest name ever! It's called "Missiletainn" according to Owain, and that has to be the coolest name for a sword I've heard. Even Falchion doesn't compare to my friend's sword.

Next one has to be Severa. Severa is a very hostile person, especially for a girl. She is even worse than my Sister when she gets mad, and my Sister doesn't get mad all that often! Sure she can get annoyed, but she never gets as mad or as often as Severa does. She also likes to spend gold a lot, especially when it comes to clothing. I swear she has at least fifteen different dresses for summer alone! Despite her attitude and carelessness with money, she is a very loyal person to the core and is super skilled at combat. I would daresay she's perfect with a blade, but I would get smacked by her if I mention any words aligned with "Perfect" around her. Still doesn't change the fact though!

Final one is Inigo, and he is a character! Inigo is, what a lot of women would say, a man-whore. I find that to be very rude and wrong assumption for my friend. He is not a man-whore! He just likes having tea and dinners with a lot of girls. And by a lot, I mean a lot… It's kind of weird because I remember him being super afraid of girls back when we were kids, and now he is this dude who shamelessly flirts with every girl he comes across. He says it is his mother's fault for making him such a flirt, but I really think he just wants to make Lucina jealous so she would go out with him. It's funny because Lucina is super clueless about romance and stuff! Still, Inigo is someone I would forever consider my friend as he is a kind, carefree soul who is always willing to help his friends with whatever they need help with. This even includes times where he could get a date with a girl! Now that is some dedication to his friends I gotta respect.

Owain, Severa, Inigo, Ana, and I are a tight bunch among our group. We're all friends to our bitter ends, and nothing is ever going to seperate us! No girls, no arguments about names for a new lance, no temper tantrums because I won't help her pay for a cute looking dress that costs over a thousand gold. Nothing of the sort can destroy our friendship, and I mean that! Speaking of my friends and sister, I should probably stop writing and head out before I'm late. I'll get an earful from Severa and Ana if I don't make it to guard duty on time, and I don't plan on getting yelled at today!

It's a good thing that I'm as fast as a crossbow bolt.

* * *

"Yeaaaah!" I yell out, a smile full of joy and laughter on my face as I jump from roof to roof; flipping and twisting to make my jumps look fun and cool looking. I didn't want to take the stairs in my house and walk through the busy street, so I decided to go rooftop jumping to my destination! I can easily do this seeing how I'm the agile Thief of my merry band of time travelers. Being a Thief means you got be fast and lucky, and I am fastest and the luckiest in my entire group of friends. Ana just means I get beat up easier, but they gotta catch me first. They usually catch me though so…

Anyways! I'm busy being all cool by jumping across Ylisstol's, the name of the city I live in, roofs with some sick flips and twists. As I make my way across the roofs, I look up and smile as I see a flock of Pegasus Knights do a routine flight around the city. I think I see a few of my friends in there like- Agh!

Due to me not looking where I am going, I am unable to make a particularly long jump and I fall straight down into the street below; smacking into clothing lines and sign posts during my tumble down to the ground. I finally land in a pile of trash that is sitting right next to a familiar old man that I have come to know after a few similar falls. His name is Hubba, if I remember correctly, and he runs this shop where duos of people take this thing called a "Hubba Test". I tried it once with Owain, and I swore never to do it again after we realized what it actually was and I got confirmation from Inigo when he did it with Gerome, another one of our friends, came to visit. He also sells these cards called "Einherjar Cards". Apparently they are cards that have famous warriors painted on them. Hubba says that if you collect a set of cards, it is suppose to unlock a portal to something called the "Outrealms". I don't know if they are magic, and I don't want to know as a lot of the female cards are kind of… Interesting as I will put it.

I don't know how my family will react if I get the "Heroines of Beauty" set all together. I'm just one card short!

"Hi Hubba…" I moan out as I dig my way out of the trash, groaning as I rub my fresh bruises to relief the pain.

"Hello Andy." The old man smoothly says, smiling at me through his wrinkles. "Another tumble?"

"Yeah… Man, I seriously need to focus while I'm on the roofs."

"If you did, we wouldn't have these talks! I get very lonely, especially with how my grandchildren don't visit me anymore." I know why they don't visit. I don't want to remember that particular scene so I'm just going to say it involved a Hubba test. At least he gave me an Einherjar Card for my troubles.

"That is true, so I suppose there is an upside to my slip-ups." I acknowledge, standing up as I brushed off the dirt and garbage on my simple outfit of a tan tunic and pants. I especially want nothing on my iconic red cloak! It was my Mom's from the Future, and I want nothing to happen to it. It's too special to have something terrible to happen to it.

"So… You plan on taking another one of my Hubba Tests soon?" Hubba asks me, a creepy smiling forming on his face as he leaned on his shop's counter. "What about you and that Owain you were here with when you took the test? Seems like a good chance for another test!"

"Hubba, we're not like that. We're just friends."

"I know… But still! The grass is always greener on the other side!"

I stare at the old man for a few moments, a look a pure apathy on my face as I let his last few words swirl around in my head. Yeah… No. "I have to be going now. Goodbye Hubba."

"Goodbye Andy! Stay safe and be sure to stop by again."

"Yeah…" I quickly walk away from the old man's store, leaving the narrow street for the wide main one instead. I let out a sigh as I look at my destination again. Great… It's packed full of people, and I got to be there in a few minutes.

I am so going to get yelled at again!

* * *

"Hello? Sorry I'm late." I call out as I arrive at my destination, preemptively lowering my head so I can dodge any potential projectiles. The location is a little section of the walls, cornered off by two watchtowers, that is a little private place to watch out for anything super weird and strange. As I push the door fully open, I let out a sigh of relief as I only see Owain and Inigo there; the two talking to each other. When I say that, I mean Owain doing weird poses while Inigo provides commentary that mocks Owain who responds with a fellow insult. It's how the two talk to each other when they aren't having a serious conversation, and when they goofing off.

"Ah-ha! My fated companion is here to join me in my attempts to calm my forever hungering hand! I am forever thankful for you appearance, my dearest ally of justice!" Owain shouts out dramatically, posing with his "hungering hand" out at me.

"Hi Owain. I'm glad to see you're doing well." I answer back, nodding to my friend as I join Inigo.

The Mercenary turns to face me and gives me that iconic smile of his, saying "Hello Andy. You're running a bit late, are we?" I let out a sigh as I rub my temples. I'm late by over a good twenty minutes! I'm just waiting to get yelled by either my sister or Severa, or maybe both. Speaking of them, where are they?

Sensing my question, Inigo began again and said "Oh them? I'm afraid they haven't arrived either. I'm surprised that they of all people are tardy, though I'm sure we all know the reason why." Oh… Severa couldn't find an outfit to wear so she dragged my Sister into helping her make a particular outfit for her. That happened on occasion, but my Sister always was able to find an outfit so they could make it on time. If they are late this time around, then Severa is being particularly needy for an outfit today. I hope they don't go shopping as my Sister is not a big fan of shopping for clothes. I could spend all day looking for a cool new outfit to buy, but my sister would rather buy something simple than something that made her look good.

"A strange twist of fate indeed! It is as if fate itself decided to give us a chance to conquest a forgotten quest of importance! A deed to which our heroic blood shall-"

"What did you forget to do?" I ask Owain, who quickly drops his dramatic persona and adopts a more normal one.

"I… May have forgot to bring our lunches for today." Owain admitted, a sheepish grin on his face as he looked at Inigo and mine's shocked ones.

"You forgot the lunches! How could you?! Do you have any idea the pain you are going to be in once Ana and Severa arrive?" I ask, fear running through my spine as I remember the time I had forgotten to bring the group's lunches when it was my turn. Gods… Inigo, Owain, and mine's wallets was so abused that day, I'm sure they need someone like a therapist to deal with the trauma they went through!

"I know! I know! I was too busy worrying about Missiletainn yesterday to remember to get our usual lunches." Owain answered, his hands clasped together as he silently asked for forgiveness.

"What do you mean you were worrying about your sword?" Inigo asked, more angry than afraid as he shouted at his friend.

"I may have… Broke Missiletainn yesterday while I was training."

"What do you mean you broke your sword?!"

"I… Hit it against a rock and it broke in half-"

"Why would you do that? Are you special in the head?!"

"I always see Chrom and Lucina easily smash stuff while they train, so I thought I could do it myself as well seeing how I am of their blood. It turns out I cannot."

"Of course you can't! Your sword is of common make, and you were trying to recreate Falchion's power! You're the biggest idiot I have ever seen!"

"Says King Chastity…"

"'King Chastity'?! Oh now you've done it!"

"Guys! Calm down!" I place myself between the two as they adopt fighting poses, Inigo in a boxing stance while Owain does this really stupid pose that sort of looks like a bird standing on one foot. "We can salvage this. All we need to do is hurry and grab some food before they come back, okay? How does that sound?"

"That's a good idea, better than your ideas anyway." Inigo spat out at Owain as he dropped his fists.

"Uh-huh. Yeah. At least I can-"

"Owain!"

"Alright… Alright… Let's get going shall we?"

"Yes! Let us hurry before Ana and Severa arrive and we are forced to suffer for his stupidity." With a sigh on my end, we all leave our post and head into the city with Inigo and Owain going back to a more friendly type of arguing as I follow close behind them. As I follow them, I think up of potential types of lunches we could get.

I'm thinking of a thing my father calls a "sandwich".

* * *

"W-What do you mean that you're out of tomatoes?!" I ask, completely and utterly confused as the old lady manning the vegetable stall shakes her head. In my hands are several baskets carrying various fruits and vegetables like potatoes, carrots, lettuce, and this pineapple that was on sale. Mom always did say go for the bargains no matter what, so that is what I did. I'll figure out a way to put a pineapple in a sandwich somehow…

"I'm saying I don't have anymore tomatoes. These very adorable looking young people wearing these black cloaks bought them all! They said they were going to 'make sandwiches for the elderly.' Such nice children." The Morgans! I know exactly what they plan on doing, and it has screwed my plan of sandwiches all up! I'm going to have to kick their butts once today comes to a close. For now, I must worry about my fate!

"Inigo! How is the situation with the bread?" I shout, turning swiftly to look at my friend's progress. I feel myself let out a choke as I see Inigo flirt with the bread stall's cute attendee, who is surprisingly accepting his advances. Woah… Wait! We're in a situation here and he's dooming us with his flirting! Gods… I hope Owain isn't goofing off as well.

"Owain! You got the meat and drinks?" I do the same, and this time I feel myself sigh in relief as I see Owain let out a muffled cry back as he carried a stack of meat and a sealed pitcher that faintly smelled of apples. At least someone understands the situation we're in right now, though he was the one to put us in this situation! Gods…

I let out another sigh and rush to Inigo, dragging him away as he promised to meet up with the blushing cutie for some dinner later today. I drag him back to Owain, to which we huddle together and begin discussing our options. Gods, we're so screwed if we don't hurry up and figure out a plan soon!

"Alright! We can't make sandwiches as we have no bread, and the Morgans bought all of the tomatoes in the city." I say, holding up my baskets of fruit and vegetables.

"Wait. All of the tomatoes?!" Inigo asks, leaning back in surprise att my mention of the Morgans.

"Yes! I asked every stall in the market, and they bought all of them. I don't even know how that works!" Seriously, I have no idea how they did it. They don't have access to the Royal Treasure, their parents give them a regulated allowance, and Lucina would never allow them to do something like this if she knew about it.

"Well, I got the meat and drinks! I got apple juice as it was on sale, and I may have spent too much on the meat so I didn't have much left…" Owain adds in, holding up his objects.

"At least it was nothing." I send a glare to Inigo, who meekly shrugs as he mutters something under his breath. "Anyways, we can't really make a sandwich with what we got. Do we have any other options?"

"How about a stew?" Inigo offered, licking his lips as spoke to us. "We all loved stew night in the past, so it'll be a wonderful memory to relive!"

"That's a good idea, my dear friend of fate! Your sharp mind of mystery and danger has not been totally idled by the charms of vixens." Owain dramatically says, nearly dropping the meat as he posed. "Especially after that one daring vixen who drew a demonic instrument of death and threatened you to give her-"

"Enough Owain! I don't want to remember that incident!" Oh yeah… Inigo had somehow gotten a date with this really sketchy looking girl during our travels to stop Grima here in the past. From what I heard, the girl drew a knife and robbed Inigo of everything, including some of the stuff in the supply convoy. Ah… I can still remember how loud all the girls of our group of time travelers were while they yelled at him, especially Noire! Then again, Noire is always loud whenever she gets worked up…

"Okay! We're going with the stew idea. We just need a big enough pot, some wood, and the needed utensils to create the dish. Where do you guy think we can get what we need now?" I ask, tapping my chin with one of my index fingers.

After a few moments of silence, Owain ventures forth in a muted voice. "Old Hubba said he was selling his traveling stew set if I remember correctly…" Oh Gods no… Not Hubba…

"Is this really our best option?"

"It seems so my dear phantom thief of justice. He is also the closest chance we have from where we're standing right now, so it means he is the fastest option." Gods… I was not ready for today at all.

"Let us get going then." Inigo weakly ordered, sweat sliding down his forehead. He's remembering his time with Hubba as well I bet. Gods… Why?!

"Alright! Let's go." All three of us quickly rush through the busy marketplace and towards Old Hubba's shop, silently steeling ourselves for the encounter ahead. We easily make it through the massive crowd swallowing Ylisstol's main street and slip into the side street Old Hubba lives on. Just as we enter the street, all three of us nearly scream in pure terror at the sight before us.

It is Ana and Severa, each of them carrying a basket full of clothes, talking to Old Hubba as he is setting up the- Oh Gods no! Not his Hubba Test! Of all the places in the massive city of Ylisstol, they are here at Old Hubba's shop and they are getting a Hubba Test? Why?! Why does this have to happen to us three?

"Guys! What are we going to do?!" I ask, my voice a strained whisper as I try not to draw the attention of Severa and Ana.

"I have a plan, and you're not going to like it. Give me your stuff." Inigo orders to which I comply, handing him the baskets of fruits and vegetables. "Okay… Go distract them. Owain and I will head into the back and grab the kit."

"What?! Why do I have to be the distraction?"

"You're fast and lucky, which is much better in a situation like this when you compare it to Owain and I."

"Hey! My fell hand and I resent that!"

"Shut up! Do you want them to hear us?"

"N-No…"

"Then be quiet! Andy, Gods bless you and good luck! We'll meet you back at the wall, if you're lucky that is..." With that, Inigo and Owain swiftly disappeared; heading down an alleyway as they went straight towards their target. I let out a sigh as I began to formulate a plan in my mind to deal with the two women in front of me. I should just saw that Inigo and Owain sent me out to look for them after as they were worried about them. Yes! That's perfect. They can't possibly get mad at me if I told them that. Afterwards… I'll just make it up as I go! That's how I handle most things in my life anyways.

I let out a few deep breaths to ease my fear before I head straight towards them, hoping to Naga herself that they don't notice how scared I am right now. As I near them, I begin to hear Hubba as he began his infamous Hubba Test on them.

"Hubba! Hubba! Hubba and dooooooo!" The old man shouted as slapped a misty crystal ball onto the counter, the misty inside of the ball slowly clearing as it revealed the results of the Hubba Test. I stay silent as I stand behind the two entranced girls, my mind screaming of what the result is going to be.

"Ah… It's the perfect friendship." The crystal ball revealed a simple image of Ana and Severa shopping, a smile on their faces as they compared clothes with each other; the ball itself glowing a soft green as it showed them the image. I accidently let out a sigh of relief, glad that they didn't get a weird answer like Owain and I did, and startle the two girls.

"Andy! What are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be with Owain and Inigo on the city's walls?" Severa asks first, her face scrunching up in an expression I know all too well.

"Yeah Bro… Why aren't you at your post?" Ana asked second, her face scrunching up like Severa's as they stared daggers at me.

"W-Well you see- Owain, Inigo, and I noticed how long it was taking you guys to arrive so we got worried that something might of happened. They sent me to go find you just in case something had happened. I'm glad you two are safe." I repeat, giving myself a mental high-five as I see the two girls' faces drop their hostile expressions and adopt those of embarrassment.

"You see… We got, um, 'sidetracked' a little." Severa said, a faint blush dusting her cheeks as she adjusted her basket full of clothing.

"Severa's outfit she wanted to wear today got ripped around her chest area, and she wanted another dress so she asked me to come and help her find one. We may have gotten side-tracked…" Ana explained, tapping her chin like Mom and I do. "To think that you guys would get so worried about us… Fucking fantastic…" Ah yes! There it is. My dear Sister's infamous potty mouth. At least it wasn't as bad as Sully or Dad's language at times. Some of the stuff they say would curl milk into cheese! At least my Sister is doing her best to curb her language to appeal more friendly now-a-days. I'm very proud of her doing that.

"Oh-ho! Welcome back Andy. Say, would you like a Hubba Test with one of these fine ladies? I'm sure it will turn out as wonderful as the one you took with that Myrmidon." Old Hubba suddenly broke through our world, making me quickly turn back to despair as Ana turned to face Hubba.

"He took a test? What were the results?" Ana asked the old man, who simply smirked as he shaked the crystal ball to reveal my test with Owain.

I immediately freak out, saying "W-We don't h-h-have to view it! We should get to the others before they w-worry some more! Owain made stew for us, and it would be a shame to let it-"

"Here it is! Now, I won't judge like I always do. Whatever floats your boat after all!" I let out a silent scream of pure agony as Ana and Severa look at the results Old Hubba dragged forth for all to see. The crystal ball had taken a hot pink glow, revealing a golden background with me and Owain embracing each other; both of us seemingly without clothing on. The intention in our eyes are clear, and it would only take a single twitch of movement before we're doing something I never want to see.

"I.. Was not expecting this…" Severa was the first to speak, completely and utterly surprised at the sight before us. "I was totally not expecting this, like, at all! Wow… I didn't know you and Owain felt that about each other."

"W-We don't! We're just good friends!"

"You know I'm always rooting for you Brother, especially when it comes to romance." Ana added, furthering pushing me into despair as I watch Old Hubba's smug grin grow bigger by the second. "If this is how you feel, then I won't judge you. I'm always behind you, one hundred percent!"

"...Can we please just go?"

* * *

It took us an hour before we arrived back at our post, my mind and spirit completely flayed as Severa and Ana talked to me about my "preference" of Owain. Gods… Of anything that could of happened to me, I was not expecting something like this would ever happen to me. I'll explain it to them once I've recovered from the flaying. They'll understand, like they always do in the end.

Once we arrive, I let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Owain and Inigo talking to each other as they sat around a bubbling pot of stew, the smell of the stew just begging me to drink every last drop of it. Thank the Gods they were successful as we would have been in serious trouble with the girls if not.

"Ah! My dear phantom thief of wind and justice has returned to us!" Owain said, waving an empty bowl around as he acted out his words. "Shall I replenish your tired soul with some hearty and wonderful stew, boiled to perfect by the burning rage of my heart that traveled deep into veins of my fell hand?"

"Yes actually. I would very much love something to eat after everything I went through." I answer, walking over to sit down right next to my friend as he filled my bowl to the brim before handing it and a spoon to me. I quickly dig in, ignoring Severa and Ana's looks at me as they sit down and get bowls full of the delicious stew as well from our eccentric Myrmidon.

For the next few minutes we eat in silence, savoring our meal as looks are exchange among the entire group in silence. I send a few glances at Inigo and Owain first, who return my looks with some looks of their own. I then shift my view to my Sister and Severa, who are looking at each other before looking at me and Owain. I glance back at Owain, who matches my glance with one his own as well as a quick smile silently telling me good job on distracting them. I smile back at him, also silently thanking him for being able to save our poor wallets from the girls' vicious spending habits.

Soon, our silence is broken by Inigo as he says "So… How have you ladies been doing?"

"We've been doing alright today. How about you Inigo?" Ana asked back, finishing up her portion of the stew.

"Well… I have a date tonight!" No… No! No Inigo! You can't do this!

"Really?" Severa asked, completely and utterly unconvinced at Inigo's claim. "I highly doubt that someone like you got a date."

"Yes I do! I asked a rather cute lady while we were getting ingredients to make the stew!" Inigo quickly replied, his face instantly morphing into one of pure regret as he looked at Owain and I; our faces one of pure hate and disgust at our lecherous friend. He just had to ruin our chances by bragging…

My Sister's face almost instantly crinkle back up into danger mode expression and asks up straight up "What do you mean?"

"He's just saying that Owain wanted to add more spice to his stew, so he sent Inigo out to go and grab some stuff to help improve our stew!" I quickly answer, trying my hardest to hide my fear as Owain jumps in to help me.

"Y-Yeah! I had Chastity King over here sent off on a grand quest to-"

"You forgot the lunches, didn't you Owain?" Ana cut my friend off, her glare sending chills down our spines as she spoke. "So you three decided to go and salvage the situation. You ran into us and decided to have Andy distract us. Am I correct?" Beside her was a now enraged Severa, just waiting for the chance to blow up and yell at us.

"Y-Yes…"

"HOW DARE YOU?!" There we go. "Do you three have any idea how touched we felt when Andy told us you sent him out to find us because you all were worried for us?" Inigo and Owain sent me a glance that told me I was an idiot, and good idea to tell them so I didn't die. "But no! Apparently we're worth nothing as you all were too busy worrying about your own damn hides! We're supposed to be friends, and yet you three are selfish enough to not worry about us!"

"W-We were worried! We just-"

"'We just' what? You weren't worried at all about us! What if something actually happened and we needed help! You three would have not cared in the slightest until it was bloody obvious we were in danger!" By now, Severa was now ugly crying as she yelled at us; every tear she shed making my Sister more and more angry. We're in deep trouble now thanks to Inigo. And to think, he is supposed to be the master with the ladies!

"Help! Please!" Suddenly, Severa is snapped out of her triad by the shouting of someone coming from beyond the city's walls. We all instantly go on alert, Owain rushing into one of the towers to grab weapons just in case we need them. Inigo and I rush to the walls and look over them to see who is shouting.

I gasp as I see a man wearing a white cloak, his hood covering his face, as he stumbles away from some bushes that were shaking like crazy. He's in danger! We need to help him before whatever is chasing him attacks!

"Andy! What's the situation?" Owain shouts as he returns, tossing all of us our respective weapons as he himself wielded Missiletainn, shining like a star almost as he spun it in a fancy twirl. I guess he went and got his blade repaired by that old smith dude, what was his name again Andre? Whatever his name is, he's super good at repairing stuff but he is also super expensive. I'm surprised Owain had that much to spend, but it is his famous sword so he's going to spoil it like nothing.

"Seems like we got someone trying to harm a traveler." I answer as my friend joins Inigo and I to check out the scene one more time.

"Triangle Attack?"

"Triangle Attack!" Inigo and I answer once more with smirks on our faces. I turn to look at Ana and Severa and say "Head down and join us while we save this one. Hurry!" With that, the two girls nodded as they began to rush downstairs. I turn back to my two friends and we got on top of the wall's ramparts as we ready ourselves for our Triangle Attack. We practiced super hard to do this move, even breaking a few bones in the process through our training, and now is our time to shine!

"Let's go!" Owain shouted as he leapt from the wall, followed closely by Inigo and I as our blades shined in the sunlight. With mighty battle cries, alongside Owain's "Radiant Dawn" attack screech, we fall straight down and land in front of the startled man; dust flying everywhere. We begin to twirl and swing our blades and bodies around, just as we practiced, as we do our introduction. Owain's moves are precise and fast, his swings mimicking the traditional Myrmidon moveset and Chrom's own fighting style in a way. Inigo twirls around gracefully, like a dancer, as his blade swings speak of strength and power. My moves are swift and graceful, showing off my speed as we finish off our showing off.

"Back away evil-doer! You face the Shepherds, guardians of all sheep!" Owain announces as we all finish and get into our practiced poses, Owain's point his sword at the enemy while Inigo stands at his side and I kneel down in front of them. Yep, our "Triangle Attack" isn't actually a Triangle Attack. It's an opening of our moves to intimidate any potential goes from fighting us. We managed to scare off some bandits with it once so it works! DOn't make fun of us!

As we wait for the enemy to come out the bushes, the man behind us is seemingly completely stunned at our sudden appearance. Soon, the bushes do give way to… A doe and some of her babies as they ran past us and beside the city's walls, leaving us all alone. Where are the enemies? Was this man afraid of deer?

With a sigh, I stand back up as Owain and Inigo also break out of their stances; Inigo blushing and muttering how stupid that still was while Owain smiled like crazy at how cool he must have felt. Severa and Ana soon join us, also confused at the lack of enemies that were supposed to be here.

Confused, I turn to face the cloaked man; only to find him getting on his knees and bowing to us, saying "Please save my kingdom!" Okay. I'm even more confused now! What was he talking about? What was happening to his kingdom?

"Um… Who are you?" Inigo asks, coming to stand beside me as we all look at the man bowing before us all.

"M-My name is… Anankos. I need you to save my kingdom, please!" The man, Anankos was his name, answered with pure and utter desperation in his voice. He really did seem like he was in dire straits and that he was desperate for anyone to help him.

"Hold fast, my dear man. What ails you place of birth? Has an evil warlord come to conquer it in hopes of some revelation to a secret magic balls that would make him immortal?" Owain asked next, adopting his famous pose as we waited for the Anankos' answer.

"I-I can't tell you. Not right now at least." Anankos said, standing back as he rubbed his hands together as if to calm himself. "But it still needs saving! You must help me save my kingdom!"

"Hold up, Mr. Anankos was it?" Severa interjected, sheathing her blade so she could place her hands on her hips. "Why won't you tell us about what's wrong with your kingdom?"

"It's… The situation is very complicated. Please, you must understand!" Anankos swiftly dug into his cloak's pockets and pulled out weather looking map, handing it to me as he pointed at one part of the map. Hey! That's the tree Tiki lives in, all the way in Valm.

"If you trust me, follow this map and meet with me on the night of the next full moon." Anankos instructed, looking around before he began to run away from us. As he ran, he called back to us one last time saying "Please! For my kingdom and all of its people, you must help!" And with that, Anankos left us in the dust; holding the map and instructions to meet him at Tiki's Tree on the night of the next full moon. That's… That's about fifteen days away seeing how tonight is the day of the new moon! We have to go to another continent in fifteen days if we are to help him!

"So… What do you guys think? Should we help him?" I ask, shaking the weather piece of parchment on my hands as I waited for everyone's answer.

"I believe we should! I have a feeling this could lead to a grand adventure where we will be known as legends! I just know it!" Owain shouted as he held his hand out in a dramatic pose, putting his vote into the Go Camp.

"I don't believe this guy for a second." Ana objected, placing her hands on her hips as she looked at where he had ran off. "He could be some creep who is trying to get us into a bad situation. Maybe he's some kind of Grimleal and he wants revenge on us?! I say it is too risky to go after him." One vote for the No Camp.

"I have to agree with Ana on her assumptions, but I have to side with Owain. I simply can't ignore someone in need, especially after his display earlier." Inigo said, placing his hands behind his back as he licked his lips anxiously. Two votes for the Go Camp.

"I also got to side with Owain and Inigo. I don't like how this entire situation sounds, especially with how he wouldn't tell us what was going on. But, I can't let someone in need go unanswered. I can't after everything we went through." Severa added in, crossing her arms as she gave a little smile. Three votes for the Go Camp. Well, I know what my vote is going to be.

"I'm going to go as well. I never want to leave anyone in need, especially after everything we went through." I say, tugging at my red cloak's cloth that is wrapped around my neck. "Do you plan on coming as well Ana? We could use all the help we can get."

"Yeah… I'll go if you all are going. I would never dare to leave my friends and Brother behind, no matter what." Ana lets out a sigh as she began to head back into the city. "Let's get all packed up and get going. We have only about fifteen days to get to Mila's Tree to make it on time." Good idea. We're going to need supplies if we're going to travel. Silently, we all disperse and head to our respective homes to get everything geared up for our journey ahead.

I'll make you proud Mom and Dad… I swore it and I'll never break my promise!

* * *

 **So. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of Hero. I hoped it was to your liking as we will be going through the entire Fates' storyline as well as some side plots that will be a part of this fanfiction. I also plan on making a few characters, especially enemies, more "fleshy" as Fates didn't have the best villains in my opinion. Some were pretty good, especially the final boss of Conquest, but a lot weren't really all that special. I hope to make them much better for the short amount of time they'll be a part of the story. Also, I would like to leave you all with a warning. My posting rate is… Spotty at best. Don't expect regular and/or frequent updates as I tend to get writer's block and I also tend to write for a long periods at a time just to make a chapter seem right in my eyes. It's dumb, I know, but that is how I usually operate with everything going on in my real life. I also plan on making each chapter at least five thousands words in length compared to my earlier two thousand. I can always change it to something more reasonable if you all don't want to dredge though so many words. One last thing before we leave, but I also plan on publicly responding to reviews I get. I feel like I don't appreciate you guys enough so I want to show you all I appreciate you guys in some kind of way. So I hope you guys are ready for longer Author Notes. I'll be going now. I hope you all stay alright until we meet again. Farewell my dear readers!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So. Kept you guys waiting, huh? How long has it been since I've even touched this story, or how you all even had a shred of hope that it will be updated in some manner? Too long I imagine. Well, here is the next chapter and it will hopefully be worth your time. On the question of whether or not I'll continue writing this fanfiction after this update, I would like to. If I finish this fanfiction while doing so, then all the better! I just hope you all can continue to go along with me as I begin again the fanfiction sequel of** _ **Mercenary**_ **:** _ **Hero!**_

* * *

 _ **Chapter Two: Hidden Truths; Part One**_

The journey to Mila's Tree was actually really easy, for what it is worth. No bandits attacked us, no wild storms blew our ship off course, and no crazy warlord in Valm tried to capture us. We just marched, joked, had petty arguments, camped out, and essentially just had fun while we headed to the supposed meeting spot. Well, we had to make a detour due to a civil war in Valm between five warlords. Apparently some kind of royal family dispute over who was the right family for this one little kid. On retrospective, it is pretty stupid when you think about. Why go to such lengths and troubles for one random kid? That kid is probably going to have some serious issues growing up, I bet.

Anyways, we arrived at Mila's Tree three days ahead of schedule; so Inigo, Owain, Severa, Ana, and I have just been camping out on one of the tree's many giant roots. I honestly felt a little strange while camping there. It was, as if there were some sort of invisible being watching us the entire time. And I mean, _the entire time_. I honestly didn't know if I could comfortably go to the bathroom at all! But, I am glad we got there so early as Anankos was the last to arrive. When he arrived, he explained to us that he had a spell that could change our appearances. At first, we were pretty on edge about that but he explained that we needed to have them changed due to the mission before us.

So we are now waiting for him to get on with it.

* * *

"Owain, Inigo, Severa, Andy, Ana. Are you ready for this?"

"Yes. My fell hand is ready."

"Naturally."

"Let's get this over with."

"I'm ready!"

"Hurry up."

"Then let us begin." With a massive flash of blinding light and what was the roar of a dragon, I felt a strange wave sweep over me as I awaited the results of Anankos' magic. Once the bright light was gone and the roar had subsided, I opened my eyes and looked at the white cloaked man before us. Huh… That wasn't so bad.

"Wh-What just happened?! Why did you change the color of my hair?" I turned and gasped at Severa, completely stunned at what I just saw. Her hair is now red like her mothers, the exact same shade and everything!

"Huh?! My Brand is gone!" I turned to look at Owain, and I become even more stunned. His Brand was truly gone! The Brand that showed that he was of royal blood to the Ylisse family. The same brand that Chrom and Lucina had, the former on his arm while the latter had it in her eye. Not only that, but Owain's hair color had changed to a blonde as well! How strong was this stranger's magic?

"You've got some powerful magic up your sleeves, Mr. Anankos." Inigo said to the man, his hair now grey instead of its original color as well.

"I thought it wise to alter your appearance before we depart for our destination. Any characteristics that could hint at your true lineages must be kept hidden. The least I can do is lessen the burden you three shall endure for taking on this task." The man replied, bowing slightly as if sorry for doing such a thing.

"Drat... I really liked the color of my hair." Severa mumbled out, twisting some loose hair of hers as she stared at the locks, seemingly in thought.

"Don't worry, Severa. That new color is rather fetching on you!" Inigo winked at her, smiling his iconic smile as he turned his attention to my sister, Ana. "Same goes for you, Ana. Your new color is rather beautiful if I do say so myself."

I turned to look at my sister and feel my jaw drop at the sight of her. Her hair! It's… It's now brown? That's a pretty normal color. I was imagining bright red like our Mom's hair! I wasn't imagining hair like our Dad though. Speaking of which, I turn to Owain and ask, "What's my hair? I can't really see it."

"It's the same as Ana's hair, friend. Twins matching once more! That's pretty poetic."

"Indeed… If it only were sisters instead of a brother and sister." Inigo hummed out, playfully winking at me. "No offense though, Andy."

"None taken." I answer back, rubbing the back of my neck as I smiled back at him.

"Heh. You're still as much a flirt as you ever were. I guess even Anankos doesn't have the power to change THAT. At least you're consistent. That's one thing even the war ending didn't affect." Owain said to Inigo, the two friends chuckling to each other for a little bit before turning back to Anankos.

Anankos coughed heavily for a bit, raising my level of concern for a moment before he stopped and said "Now that I have altered your appearances, you'll need new clothes and powers. Finally, the last step will be to create new names for the three of you."

"New names?! You're joking!" Ana said, surprised at how far we had to go just for this random stranger. I have to agree with my Sister here. Why do we have to go so far for just one task?

"I am not. I'm afraid abandoning your real names is a necessary precaution." Anankos explained once more, bowing once again like he was apologizing once more. I think him bowing means he is sorry. I think he is using gestures we don't use over in Ylisse…

"So basically we must hide our true identities in case the worst happens... A shadowy warrior of darkness living under a false identity—I could get used to that!" Owain dramatically posed once he finished speaking, seeming in love with the very idea of becoming such a thing. I can't really blame him. That sounds pretty cool as well! It would really fit my aesthetic as a Thief especially. It's better than being the Phantom Thief of Justice, or Hearts, or whatever title Owain comes up with at the moment.

"Um, Mr. Anankos, since you're having us change our names and appearances...that means this task you're asking of us is incredibly difficult and dangerous. Correct?" Inigo asked, turning the conversation back onto its original course.

The white clothed man nodded at Inigo's question, essentially confirming what Inigo had just said. "You are correct. I need you three to travel to another place and time to fight for me. It is a world where fates intertwine. A world of choices and consequences. I truly hope the fates are kind to you there, because if they are not...then death awaits you all."

"Death?!" Inigo and I shouted out in unison, surprised at how dire the situation had just gotten. I wasn't expecting something like this! I wasn't expecting to go off to another dimension and having to save that dimension's world as well. I honestly wasn't expecting it. I had, at least, hoped it would be somewhere in our world; not in another one!

"But we finally achieved peace here! I can't go DYING before I've had time to enjoy it!" Severa objected, clearly upset at the revelation. Can't say I blame her.

"She's got a point! Dark missions are my specialty, but risking my life again…" Owain added alongside her, his earlier enthusiasm deflating at the news.

"So we're going out of the bloody frying pan and into the fire now? Fucking fantastic…" Ana darkly muttered, seemingly the most upset at the introductory details of our mission.

"I see. I cannot say your reluctance is unexpected. I will not force any of you to go. You have every right to refuse my request." The man looked defeated when he said that, deflating slightly as he expected us to now refuse his request. I beat him to the punch.

"Wait! Who said anything about refusing?" I asked, slyly smiling as he placed my hands on my hip.

"Yeah, I never said I wouldn't go. It's just a shame, is all." Severa added along to my denial to run away.

"Though I doubt there's much reward in it for us, I will lend you my unholy strength!" Owain shouted, thrusting his hand out at Anankos to assure him of his loyalty and regrowing enthusiasm for the mission ahead.

"You agree to my request? I must ask... Why?" Anankos asked, his tone full of suspicion and guarded worry as he looked at the five of us.

"Well, it's clear you're in a real mess. You need us." Inigo answered, trying to placate the now suspicious man before us. First he was asking for our help, and now he is thinking we're lying? What a clown! Make up your mind, especially with how you're the one asking for aid right now!

Anankos hummed as he kept looking at us, his suspicion clearly not going away at all. I was about to say something when my sister interrupted me, saying "Look. We may be young, but we have tons of experience on the battlefield. And we've all been through a lot. We can tell when someone really needs help. And when someone truly needs our help, it's not in our nature to refuse. The stakes are high-that much is clear. We want to help in any way we can. Even if it all turns out to be a lie, we're choosing to believe in you. So are you going to believe us, or what?"

This seemingly stunned Anankos into silence, causing him to reach up and wipe away tears from his eyes. This allowed me to see what his eyes looked like, and they were bright red; almost unnaturally so. I've never seen someone with eyes as red as his. Guess he is normal though if we go by where he lives. I imagine it is where all that bowing and stuff comes from as well, so it has got to be pretty exotic compared to our world at the very least. What am I saying? Of course it is exotic! I really got to stop over-thinking everything, like my Dad does. Gods, I do not want to have that kind of thinking going on in my mind.

"... Thank you, young heroes." Anankos whispered out as he bowed very deep at us, his voice choking up with emotion due to us accepting the plea he gave all the way back at Ylisstol. Man, I still can't believe he just appeared at the city's walls suddenly and just begged for aid. He really did seem desperate for it, as he still does.

"You sure looked suspicious when we first met, though, covering your face like that. I never thought someone like you would come calling for us at the castle walls!" Ana pointed out, smiling a bit at how crazy the situation was just a short while ago.

"And the first thing out of your mouth was, "Please save my kingdom!" Even though you wouldn't tell us more, that certainly got our attention." Owain also pointed out, nodding at Ana's words as he added his own to the pile.

"Yeah, the most we could get our of you was when and where to meet you. "If you trust me, follow this map and meet with me on the night of the next full moon." It was all kinds of mysterious! How could we refuse?" Inigo rubbed his chin as he seemingly remembered our meeting with the man. Our meeting was pretty crazy, especially when Owain, Inigo, and I decided to jump from the city's walls just to perform a fancy pose! I enjoyed it though. I really liked how we did looking back. I hope we can do it again.

"I am sorry for keeping you in the dark." Anankos replied, bowing once more to apologize for keeping such information secret.

"Meh, no worries. But there's one thing I still don't understand... Why did we have to travel all this way to another CONTINENT to get more info?! You realize that most people wouldn't be able to manage that, right?" Severa joined in, crossing her arms and glaring as she waited for the man's answer to her question.

"I am sorry about that too. Still, you all came, nonetheless." Anankos awkwardly chuckled as he spoke, clearly not expecting to receive the severe glare that Severa had.

Owain did his iconic laugh before he began to speak, posing multiple forms while doing so. "I suppose being heroes is our birthright. Or maybe we crave the thrill of conquest...the seduction of revelation. No, I think it's just that we can't bear to abandon someone in need. But if we find out you're taking advantage of our heroic nature... I hope you're prepared to face the consequences."

"I understand. I have no intention of deceiving you or taking advantage of your generosity. As heroes who defeated the Fell Dragon Grima, you deserve far better." With that, the entire atmosphere became charged at the revelation of who were exactly are.

Inigo coughed, clearly put off by the reveal, and said "Um, did we tell you about that? I don't recall telling you about that…"

"Again, I must apologize. Knowing you three come from a desolate future... It pains me to involve you in another war." Okay. This is now is on the grounds of a potential threat from this guy now. That, and I can't shake the feeling that something is coming closer to us. I don't know why though!

I placed a hand on my sword's handle and asked "You know we're from the future?! Just who are you, Mr. Anankos?"

"I…"

Severa was the first to show real aggression towards the white cloaked man, pulling out her sword and saying "Go on! Spit it out already!"

"Severa, get down!"

"Huh?!" Suddenly, Anankos thrusted his hand out and seemingly cast a magical spell at Severa. She ducked down on instinct, trying to avoid the spell should it be deadly to her. Instead, the spell went over her and suddenly stopped right above her. It swiftly formed into the shape of a see-through shield, to which it suddenly blocked something that made hazy purple waves appear across it.

We all turned to see what exactly made such waves, and we all gasped at the scene before us. It was a Swordmaster, dressed up like one of those guys that Say'ri is friends with, nearly invisible and nearly see through. The only thing that allowed us to see him was the purple haze surrounding him at the moment. But, he was gone as he jumped away; hidden from sight but still there if what I am feeling to be correct.

As we all drew our weapons, backing up into a circle to cover all of our flanks, and got ready for battle; Severa stumbled back into our group and fearfully asked "Wh-who is that creep?!"

"No! This cannot be! They must have caught wind of my plans…" Anankos snarled as he backed up as well, his voice morphing with what I think was a dragon's voice for a moment. Suddenly, the pools around us began to churn as similar forms like the Swordmaster earlier rose up from the water and jumped onto the solid roots around us. I recognized a few of the classes standing around us; like Knights, Fighters, Mercenaries, Dark Mages, Sorcerers, etc. However, there were quite a few that I did not recognize. Some of them had clubs, another few had weird looking spears, and a lot of them had metal star things. What are those things?

"What are those things?! Zombies? Risen?!" I ask, a bit afraid as the new enemies disappeared just like that Swordmaster did. But they were still there as I can still feel them! What are these things?!

"No, I don't think so. We can sense them, but we can't see them. They clearly intend to kill us. But why?" Inigo asked, glancing at Anankos for some kind of answer before the enemy attack. Were they going to attack us, or are they going to just creepily look at us until we dropped dead? Who knows with these freaks of nature?!

Anankos sighed as he looked around, seemingly able to see the enemy on his end. As he did so he said to us "I'm afraid the fault is mine."

"What do you mean?" Ana asked, gripping her weapon's handle tight as she scanned the surroundings in a vain hope to try and see if she can spot the invisible warriors.

"Listen carefully. Those warriors are from another world. They followed me here. I didn't want to affect this world any more than necessary, but-"

"What kind of a world do you live in if there are creepy jerks like those around?!" Severa interrupted, in an even madder mood than before as she picked her blade back up.

"I...can't tell you that. Not yet."

"Even if you could, we don't have the time. We need to defend ourselves! I don't care who they are-we can't let them harm our world!" I shout as I feel the enemy come towards us, feeling eagerly grim to destroy us. This is going to be a real pickle… I just know it will be!

"He's right! We can discuss this over a nice cup of tea later. And besides, we already said we believe in you. We meant it." Inigo said, leaning back to get ready to counter charge our incoming enemy.

"That's sweet and all, but can we start fighting already?! We said we'd take the job, so let's get to it! BUT, after this is over, you better answer all of our questions. And I mean ALL!" Severa essentially ordered, glaring her best death glare at Anankos before turning her attention back to the enemy.

"Yes, of course. You have my word." Anankos nodded as he agreed to Severa's demands, slowly backing up as the presence of the invisible warriors soon became unbearable as they got closer and closer.

"This is so exciting! Unknown assassins stalking us from another dimension... Though it doesn't seem fair that they can see us but we can't see them. Oh well! I'll just attack in the direction I sense them. Yes, that should work. I hope you're ready for me, foul beasts of another world!" Owain essentially giggled in delight as he charged forth, swinging his blade at the air in an attempt to defeat the enemy. The blow struck true, revealing a puff of purple smoke as an invisible Fighter became semi-visible as it flew through the air before disappearing in the same purple mist. They were sort of like Risen in a sense, only the colors were brighter than the dark smog that the Risen contained.

As Owain began to swing away, most of his attacks scording blows on the enemy while others struck air, I felt a dangerous feeling to my left; prompting me to swing my sword. My blade connected with another blade, briefly revealing an enemy Mercenary before disappearing once more. I pressed my attack, swing three times in a hope that I can overwhelm the enemy before it could attack once more. Two of my three attacks struck the Mercenary, thankfully leading it to disappear in a cloud of smoke.

"Yikes... What's wrong with these things? They're so creepy! The way they pop out of the water is SO annoying too. In fact, it's rude. You're all going to pay for trying to attack me earlier!" I turn and see Severa scream out a battle cry as she struck down two enemy… I don't know this enemy's class! They have strange metal stars in their hands and appear to dress in a similar manner as the Swordmaster class. What a strange foe…

I don't have any time to think about those strange enemies as I feel two of them approach me from my right. I raise my sword up and lunge forth to strike down the first one, only to have my strike blocked by the second enemy; one of those strange spear fighters. As I jump back, preparing myself to hopefully block the enemy's attack, my sister leaps into the fray and slams her axe straight down on the first invisible warrior. As the first enemy disappears, I run forward and ram my sword through the second enemy's throat.

"So there's a world out there with these awful things in it... How unpleasant. But that means they can spy on people without them knowing it! Ugh, what an awful thought! We must get rid of them as soon as possible!" I see Inigo enter my field of vision as he laid into a Swordmaster by himself, using a mixture of dancing and basic sword fighting to throw the enemy off balance before slaying the invisible warrior.

"Good fucking grief… I wasn't expecting something as mad as this back then. Invisible warriors from another world? A man capable of changing the appearance and powers of a person? Whatever we got ourselves into, it had best be fucking fantastic!" My sister said as he backed up against my own back, gripping her axe as we both felt several enemies heading straight towards us.

"A battle between invisible demons and a few chosen heroes from a doomed future? A quest to save a kingdom seemingly doomed by a seemingly unknown enemy of great power? The requirement to hide their identity so they may keep their own world safe with a boon of new powers? All of that sounds amazing to me! Let's hope my role is not of the tragic death of the group. That would not be good, or fun, in the slightest." I chuckled to myself as the invisible enemies seemingly pounced upon my sister and I. They didn't last a single moment as we let out a cry of rage and swung our weapons in a whirlwind of death; either slaying or mortally wounding all of the enemies that tried to kill us.

"Is there any end to this horde of these faceless foes?" I hear Owain ask as I see several more emerge out of the pools before charging straight towards us once more.

"I have to agree with him! Anankos: is there some way we can stop their assault?" Inigo added on, grunting in pain as one of those club-wielding enemies struck Inigo on his shoulder plate.

"There is! The one that tried to slay Severa is the one leading them, no doubt. If you defeat it then the rest should flee!" The hooded man said as he jumped to the side, barely dodging an enemy's metal star as he pointed near the truck of the giant tree. Wasting no time, Severa and I rushed straight towards the indicated area and swiftly came across a rather overpowering presence. Whatever was leading these enemies was strong, maybe too strong for just the two of us.

There was no time to call for reinforcements, most likely the rest of our merry band dealing with the wave of enemy reinforcements themselves, as the Swordmaster's presence launched itself at us. I instantly feel the being's blade ram its blade through my side, forcing out a pained grunt from my lips while I swing my blade to try and slice the being's throat. Before my blade makes contact with the Swordmaster, I feel his presence leap away, dodging even Severa's attack to get it off of me, and back to its original position; taking its blade with it.

Before I even have a chance to at least look at my wound, I feel the Swordmaster come straight at me again. This time, however, Severa manages to block the foe's attack; letting me score a blow across the being's torso. I feel the Swordmaster's presence be filled with rage, nearly suffocating me with the sheer anger it had.

"We must...retreat for now..." I blink in surprise as I hear a disembodied voice echo around me, possibly from the invisible enemy Swordmaster itself. After that, the presence simply… Disappeared. No cloud of purple smoke, no appearance of strange magic; they were simply gone. What a strange enemy they were. I doubt that will be the last I ever see of them, and fight them in all honesty. I just hope I gain the ability to actually see them instead of relying on feeling for them.

"You prevailed. I am pleased to see that you live up to your reputations." Anankos breathed out a sigh of relief as we regrouped and swiftly tended to our wounds with a few draughts of some concoctions we brought along.

"Yep, that's the last of them. They were no match for us!" Owain proudly said as he posed, trying to seem heroic for the hooded man. He didn't really need to do something like that, but it was comforting to watch.

Inigo sighed at Owain's antics, this sigh more out of relief than annoyance, and said "Glad that's over! It seems they didn't cause any permanent damage."

Ana and I agreed, nodding and saying simultaneously "Now that was certainly an experience! I'm glad no one got seriously hurt though."

"All right, mister. A deal's a deal. Start talking! Who were those freaks anyway? And who, may I ask, are YOU?!" Severa suddenly interjected, scowling at Anankos as she waited for the answer pretty much everyone craved for.

Anankos shuffled a bit and simply stated "I will tell you all you wish to know, Severa. However... I cannot answer your questions until we reach my kingdom."

"Huh?! Why?"

"If I tell you all I know here, I shall vanish from this world. There is a curse that protects the information you seek." With that reveal, it now made sense why Anankos was tip-toeing around many of the questions we had. Did I believe he actually have a curse? I'll be honest when I say yes. We just fought invisible warriors from another world, had our appearances changed, and will soon be getting new powers after we travel to Anankos' own world. Not only that, but we're from a future that was doomed to die! It's not all that plausible to think of something like that could exist.

"A curse?!" Inigo asked, seemingly surprised at how lethal one simple curse could be. We did fight with Aunt Tharja and Uncle Henry so he should have an idea on how dangerous curses can be… Especially Henry and Risen arms… I still have nightmares about the first time he did that curse.

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"...Fine. If that's how it is, then let's get moving. We won't know what we're dealing with until we have all the details." My Sister grumbled out loud, not all that happy we're being kept in the dark at the moment.

Pretty much knowing our combined unease and annoyance with being kept ignorant, Anankos bowed once more and said "I am sorry for the secrecy. As an apology, allow me to reward you three in advance. What sorts of things do humans like... Longevity? Eternal beauty? Incomparable wealth?"

"HUH?! L-longevity?"

"Eternal beauty?!"

"Incomparable wealth?! How can you say that with a straight face?" With that reveal: Owain, Inigo, and I essentially lose our minds at the offer Anankos gave us to try and smooth over our troubled moods. We then noticed our expressions and swiftly went after each other.

"Why is that making you blush, Inigo?!"

"Quiet, Owain! You're blushing too!"

"You two rather ridiculous blushing like that. Did those rewards go to both your heads?"

"Oh be silent, Phantom Thief of Justice! You're in a similar manner as us!"

"Yeah! You should take a look in the mirror and rephrase those words, Andy!"

"You three are totally missing the point! Those "rewards" are impossible! Longevity? Incomparable wealth? Who do you think you are- some kind of god or something?" Severa and Ana suddenly shouted out, seemingly furious at Anankos even thinking about offering such a reward to us.

"Well... I have been called one in the past." Anankos admitted, a small smile playing on his lips as he seemingly thought of something. It was possibly better day for the hooded man. I can't say I blame him for thinking of days like that.

"Huh?! I...see. But if you have that kind of power, why do you need our help?" Inigo pointed out, making Owain and I nodded and hum out our own support of Inigo's idea.

"That's…"

"Hmm. He probably can't say because of that weird curse he mentioned. All right. Give us the goods, and let's get out of here." Ana objected, waving off our question to hurry things along.

"I can't wrap my head around all this. Longevity sounds nice, but it'll be a long time until we can appreciate it." Inigo muttered to himself, thinking about the possibilities of what could happen at Anankos' hands. I have to admit, what would incomparable wealth even be like? Would I have to pay higher taxes for it? Would I even need to pay taxes when I can just pay the taxman off? So many possibilities…

"If there's something else you desire, you have only to name it."

"Actually... Just out of curiosity...can you bring people back to life? Or is that too much to ask for?" Owain suddenly asked out loud, bringing about an idea that I had always wondered about.

"Are you crazy, Owain?!" Severa was caught off guard by Owain's surprisingly somber and rational question, no posing or theatrics this time. Just a question made of cautious hope by an orphan surrounded by orphans.

"You're not going to like this, Severa, but I was thinking the same thing. I'm sorry, but I want to know too." Inigo said as he tried to calm down Severa, joining Owain's in the hope of bringing back those we had lost.

"N-no need to apologize. I mean, I've thought about it countless times too. If only I could have my real parents back again... Not the ones we helped save, but the ones I grew up with…" Severa admitted, blushing slightly as we all turned to look at Anankos. A shared dream was brought to light, and we need only an answer to see if it will become true or not.

"So, Anankos? Can you bring back our loved ones?" I ask, being the one to truly ask the question that held a shared dream of ours.

The hooded man bowed his head and shook it, saying "I am truly sorry. It is not possible to bring the dead back to life. Such a thing is beyond even my power."

Ana sighed in defeat, her depressed expression mirroring ours as she muttered out "That's what I thought you'd say. Fucking fantastic..." Even though my true Dad was a bit of a jerk and my Mom was more concerned about money than her children, I would love to see them at least one more time just to talk with them for a single afternoon. I wonder if their proud of us, like this timeline's Dad and Mom are?

"Then...what about restoring a world that's been decimated?" Inigo ventured out after a few moments of silence, the broken hope slowly repairing itself.

Anankos turned his head to the side, clearly confused at Inigo's question, and asked "What do you mean?"

"There's a place we couldn't protect. Our original timeline, to be precise. But if it was filled with flowers and plants again... Well, then at least it would look as nice as it did when it was at peace. It may seem small, but it would bring hope. That's not nothing."

"That's not a bad idea. And I want gravestones too. Gravestones for every person that died in that world. Nice ones." Severa and Ana added along, their fiery spirits brought back at the new shining hope that Inigo's idea gave off.

"Yes. It would mean so much to me to make the world beautiful again...and create a proper memorial for all those who were lost. Even if we could never see it with our own eyes...at least we'd know we did something to improve the world we came from." Owain and I somberly agreed with, adding our own support to the idea."

"Is that really all you want? That means you'll be risking your lives for a reward you may never see. You'll have no way of knowing I did what you asked." Anankos asked, worried for our state of mind as we all agreed on our reward.

"That's true. But it's what I want."

"Me too."

"Nothing would make me happier than that."

"I would love such a reward."

"Yes, me as well. It's the most we can do for that world."

"Hmm... Very well. I shall restore the earth of your hopeless future. And I shall create gravestones for all who died there." With that, Anankos held out his hands and began to chant. As he chanted, a ball of light began to form in his hands and it grew brighter and bigger as he continued to chant. "As a keeper of ancient knowledge... As ruler of the world when it began... With my power, pure and righteous, I bless the world of these warriors…" At the end of the chant, a bright flash of light filled my vision. The light was warm and calm, as if it was lifting a burden off of my shoulders.

Once the bright light faded, Anankos stood there with a smile and his bright red eyes visible for a brief moment as he said "... It is done. That land is blossoming once more. I have granted your request."

"Thank you. It feels as though a great burden has been lifted." I admit, rubbing my eyes as I feel a sharp feeling to cry right now. Hopefully that reason does not overtake my mind right now. Dad always hated crying as it made a person weak in the head at the moment.

"It does. Thank you, Mr. Anankos." Inigo added along, a calm smile on his face as he and Owain nodded at each other.

"Sorry for saying you didn't look like you could reward us with much." Owain and Severa blushed in embarrassment, leading to Anankos to chuckle good naturedly.

"Haha, do not worry about— Huh?!" Anankos suddenly looked disturbed and began looking about for some strange reason. Oh Naga, please don't tell me those invisible things are back. It hasn't even been an hour since we last fought!

"What's wrong?" Ana asked, her hand straying towards her axe's handle in case the enemy was returning.

"I...heard voices."

"Voices?!" We all asked, completely and utterly confused on what Anankos was going on about.

"When I blessed your world...I sensed the presence of a certain tactician. I set up a grave for that person and those they were closest to. Though their bodies are long gone, I felt it was the right thing to do. And just now... I heard their voices." No way! It couldn't be!

"That could only be—!"

"Yes, it is most certainly the ones you are thinking of."

"So, um... What did they say?" Inigo asked, seemingly on edge at what those we have succeeded were saying about our recent action.

""Thank you." Over and over again. With joy...and with laughter. They also said, "Safe travels." And one more thing... "We're always watching over you, no matter where you are."" Damn it! I didn't want to cry today and I'm already feeling tears run down my face. It seems my Sister and Severa also are suffering the same affliction, while Owain is bravely putting on a tough face- No. Wait. He's also crying as well.

"Father... Mother…"

After waiting a few moments for us to collect ourselves, Anankos dug into his pockets and held out a small ball made out of crystal; saying "Before we journey to my kingdom, I wish to give you something."

"A tiny crystal ball?" I ask, confused at what something as tiny and seemingly fragile as is capable of doing.

"Listen well. When your work is done, if you wish to return to your true home...use this, and you may do so."

"What?!" No serious, what?! That tiny crystal ball has the power to return us back to our homes once our mission is done? Just how many surprises is Anankos capable of showing us in just one day?!

"That crystal has the power to transport you through space and time. After you complete your mission, you can use it to return here. Or, if you truly desire it, you can return to your own time and world. However, know that it can only be used once."

"So if we decide to return to the future, we can never come back here again?" Owain asked, rather serious about the abilities of the magical item we were being given.

"Yes. It is taboo for humans to travel through time as it is. Even I do not have the power to break this rule anymore than I already have. That the god of this world had the power to transport so many of you... leaves me in awe." Anankos admits as he looks up in the sky, seemingly in awe at the power Naga had at her disposal. To be honest, that action may have cost Naga much seeing how many of us went back in time. I wonder if she is still alive in my timeline…

"I never thought we'd ever be able to go back. But… That would mean leaving everyone here. I couldn't go back without them." Inigo admitted, clearly conflicted at the power we were just given by the hooded man.

"But we could visit our parents' graves... Leave flowers for them…" Severa pointed out, also conflicted about what to do with such power now at our disposal.

"You need not make your decision now. Consider your options carefully. You may wait to decide until after you complete your mission in my world." Oh right… We have to help Anankos and all that. Do we? We could just leave him here and return back to our timeline without any real trouble. Should we risk our lives again for this one man?

"... Yes, let's save the world. Again. As many times as it takes!" Owain suddenly shouted, doing his iconic pose as he adopted his regular smile once more. Well… I guess that settles that.

"Um, Owain?"

"What are you saying, Owain?! This is not time for theatrics!"

"Fucking fantastic… Your aching sword hand going crazy again?"

"You're wrong. All we need to think about right now is helping our friend here. There's no point thinking or worrying about the future just yet, right? We have a mission to complete first. Then we can decide what to do. After all, the three of us are going together. We're a team. We'll have plenty of time to think it through and talk things over." Owain explained, his tone strong and reassured; his stance full of confidence and power. He honestly feels and looks like the prince he technically is seeing how he is Chrom's nephew.

Inigo smiled, chuckling as he placed his hands on his hips and said "Owain... You are fascinating. You're right, too. Now is not the time to pine over our old world, or to miss our current one. We've already received a better reward than we could have hoped for. So for right now, for Mr. Anankos... Let's join together and focus on the task at hand!

"Yeah! Our parents even gave us their blessings and their thanks. I'll...always cherish that thought. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go, Anankos! We're counting on you!" Severa finished as Ana and I both nodded our agreements, keeping silent as Inigo and Severa's words pretty much explained our own feelings.

"Thank you, young warriors. I am counting on all of you as well. I shall begin the process of transporting us to my world. Please have patience. It may take some time." Anankos admitted, holding his hands together to begin the process of the spell. Hopefully it doesn't take too long.

"OK! I'm ready when you are!"

"Alrighty! We'll be waiting over there."

"Just call us when you're ready!"

"This is fucking fantastic..."

"If you need any help like food or a drink, be sure to ask!"

"Understood. Our journey back to my world will happen soon! Let us save my world, Heroes of Time!"

* * *

 **So. How did you guys like the second chapter of this thought of dead fanfiction? I imagine you all don't really like me copy and pasting actual dialogue for the most part. I do as well, but this is sort of needed in a sense for the moment. The next chapter will have a similar situation, but after that it will be completely original until we hit the first part of the main story. Then, it'll be half canon, half original in a few places while also being original for the most part. I hope that reveal will calm most of your hearts, and prepare your minds for bad dialogue that I may create. I'll probably write and post the next chapter later this week, if things don't go crazy. For now, I hope you all enjoyed the second chapter to** _ **Hero**_ **. Reviews are greatly appreciated as they pretty much help on things I could improve on, and/or gives me ideas on what I could do next. Anyways, see you all next time!**


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